Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
MIAMI --- Friday marks the unofficial opening to NBA trade season. It typically gets busier closer to the Feb. 8 trade deadline, but Friday is when more players become eligible to be traded after signing deals in the offseason.
It’s well documented the Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine are open to finding their maximum-salaried player a new home. But LaVine isn’t the only Bull to keep tabs on as the rumors fly and executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas, general manager Marc Eversley and their staff weigh their options.
There will be noise surrounding DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso at minimum and perhaps others.
Meanwhile, on the court, the Bulls are playing their best basketball of the season with LaVine out. They’re 5-2, averaging 28.1 assists in that stretch and getting multiple contributions with balanced scoring.
Coby White is authoring an impressive stretch. Nikola Vučević is putting up double-doubles like they’re easy. DeMar DeRozan is piling up assists and trips to the free-throw line. Ayo Dosunmu is displaying his relentless side again, hitting big shots and pushing pace. Patrick Williams is playing more aggressively. Alex Caruso, when healthy, has become a reliable 3-point threat and big shotmaker to go with his All-Defense pedigree.
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“Our guys just enjoy playing basketball,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I don’t think they’re really thinking too much about (trade rumors).”
Indeed, with LaVine on this three-game trip and engaging with his teammates in positive, upbeat fashion, it almost feels like a team on the rise rather than a team headed for a rebuild.
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Which direction Karnišovas and company take remains to be seen. The safe guess is somewhere in the middle. Perhaps merely a LaVine trade and a belief that the young players like White, Dosunmu and Williams---the first two on value contracts, the third headed for restricted free agency---continue to develop and DeRozan is re-signed like Vučević was last offseason.
But there’s also a reasonable scenario in which LaVine remains with the Bulls past the Feb. 8 deadline. While both sides are motivated to find a deal and have maintained a professional relationship, his contract isn’t easy to trade.
It has three years and roughly $138 million remaining after this season, plus a 15 percent trade kicker that could be waived. In the land of the more punitive collective bargaining agreement for luxury tax teams, that’s a large contract to add.
The Los Angeles Lakers are the most consistently rumored spot. But they just won the In-Season tournament and have played well despite not being fully healthy and seeing what their offseason additions can do when given time to form chemistry.
League sources have previously told NBC Sports Chicago that the New York Knicks, another rumored landing spot for LaVine, have never seriously engaged or shown interest. Same goes, at least for now, for the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.
If LaVine remains with the Bulls past the Feb. 8 trade deadline, look for the rumors to start up again close to the NBA draft in June. That’s the second-most popular trading time.
LaVine’s skill set of shooting, athleticism and three-level scoring actually fit with the way the Bulls are trying to play. With his elite 3-point range and efficiency and ability to get to the rim, he’s a modern NBA player.
The issue, at least thus far this season, is LaVine has regressed with his decision-making. Too often, he has passed up one shot to dribble into a more difficult one. Or stopped the ball from swinging from side to side, as has happened so often and so selflessly in this recent stretch of more passable play.
In fact, DeRozan is averaging 7.2 assists in the six games he has played during the Bulls’ 5-2 stretch. He missed one to injury.
As for DeRozan, his future is uncertain as well. Karnišovas has said publicly he’d like to re-sign him. But when talks stalled before the season, DeRozan, who can be an unrestricted free agent, and the Bulls moved into wait-and-see mode.
NBC Sports Chicago reported previously that management’s main focus is on LaVine’s future. If a market develops for DeRozan between now and the Feb. 8 deadline, it’s an executive’s job to listen, obviously. But DeRozan is deeply valued internally, not only for his on-court skill but for his off-court mentorship of young players.
Same goes for Caruso, who drew significant interest from multiple teams last season in advance of that trade deadline. The Bulls rebuffed all suitors. At least for now, that stance remains unchanged. But stay tuned. This is a fluid season for the Bulls.
“I have not heard anything from Arturas regarding any of our players,” Donovan said. “Obviously, as you move closer to February and the trade deadline, they’ll probably be conversations. But everything to this point has been about how can we help this group get better.”
